Facebook keeps rolling out the changes, and in addition those that affect all uses, new features are starting to appear on the fan pages of artists on Spotify. In particular, the option for fans to search from a fan page for individual songs available and share them seems likely to increase music sharing as well as use of Spotify.
As always one has to wonder who benefits more, Spotify, Facebook or fans and musicians, but for musicians who have embraced Spotify this change appears positive.
The core news here is somewhat incremental. Last month some users began to discover a "Share Music" option in their Status Update box at the top of the news feed. This option included Spotify, at the very least, and added to the ways that Spotify is getting deeply integrated into the land of Facebook. Facebook tests features by activating them on selected accounts and this form of music sharing still hasn't been rolled out across the whole network.
The new music sharing feature now showing up on artists' fan pages can be seen on the page for Of Monsters and Men. It allows you to search for any song on Spotify, not just that of the band whose page you're on, then post to the page and also share to your own Timeline.
Artists that don't allow fans to post on their walls won't see this feature since that's where it shows up. What I find particularly interesting is that even though I didn't Like the page and don't have the Spotify app installed, I was still able to post and share music. While it kind of makes more sense to just allow fans who've Liked a page to post, the fact that I could share music from Spotify without using Spotify opens up the potential for sharing.
A related feature that began showing up last month is a box that shows the top 5 songs from Spotify that have been played by friends. You can also see this on the Of Monsters and Men page. Inside Facebook says that if you filter the page's Timeline to show Posts by Others, the box will feature all Spotify plays but it disappears when I do that.
Given that this feature appears to be in testing phase, the details could change but it's something to watch for. If you're a musician on Spotify and this shows up on your fan page, it would definitely be worth pointing out to your fans. Though you're also promoting Spotify that's to your advantage in this case.
More: The Definitive Guide To Facebook For Musicians
The New Reality Of Facebook: How Much Has Changed? (also note Suzanne Lainson's comment on this post about additional changes)
[Thumbnail image via Inside Facebook]
Hypebot Senior Contributor Clyde Smith (@fluxresearch) blogs about business at Flux Research: Business Changes and about dance at All World Dance: News. To suggest topics for Hypebot, contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.
